1 Chapter 1

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"Take them from the right Houston, they are open."

My feet don't move, they seem to be plastered to the ground. I looked at the person standing on the left of me, my mentor and a good friend. The worry can be seen in his eyes but I just can't feel my body. I try to move again but I just can't. I turn my head to look in front of me. They are holding a girl; her hands are tied behind her back and she is crying.

"Houston, do it. We can take them down." His voice feels foreign and I wonder why.

All of a sudden, I can feel the immense warmth on my face and look behind his back. The explosion hit me hard and I was thrown into the air. My whole life flashes in front of my eyes as I float in the air. Mum's smiling face, dad's teasing expression, Laura's laugh and Sam's whiny face. I hit the ground and I can feel my head throbbing. My whole body is paining and I can't feel my legs. the building is on fire and I can feel the smoke choking me. I know that this is the end and I accept it wholeheartedly.

"Look around carefully, get them out. We can't lose them." I can hear the distant cries but my consciousness seems to be parting away. I am scared.

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"NO!" I screamed and sat up. I was trembling with fear and pain. I looked around and found myself safe in my room. Another nightmare, another memory and same pain. Nightmares had become a part of my life now and I was very much used to them. I got up, took a shower because I knew that the sleep was long gone. I went out for a run as it always helped me to calm down. I came to this town a year ago and I felt at peace. It somehow helped me to get rid of all the people from my past and set me free.

After an hour run, I returned and made myself some pancakes. I sat down on a chair and opened my phone to find 20 missed calls from dad. My dad checked up on me from time to time as I was not in contact with any of my family but 20 missed calls, something was not right. I quickly dialed his number and he picked up on the second ring.

"Dad, is everything okay? I mean 20…"

"Dania." His voice was hoarse.

"What is wrong dad?" I knew something was very wrong because my dad was a collected person and always managed to remain sane in every situation. His hoarse voice alerted me.

"I-It's Laura."

"What happened to Laura? Is she okay?" I asked.

"They can't find her." He was crying.

"Who can't find her? Where is she? Please, tell me what happened?" I was getting anxious.

"She went to camping with her friends and didn't return. They tried to find her but they just came to a dead end." His voice was barely a whisper.

"When did she exactly went for camping, dad?"

"It has been over a month now." He whispered.

I felt the ground beneath me shaking as I clutched the table. I felt my whole world crumbling down at that moment.

"You are telling me now?" My voice was shaking.

"I thought that they had it under control but they found her friend dead today with no leading clue. I don't know what to do. Come home, honey. We need you."

"I will be there, don't worry. I won't let anything happen to her, dad." I said while standing up and went to my bedroom. I ended the call and started packing my clothes. My mind was going wild with all the horrible thoughts but I tried my best to stay collected and sane. I wouldn't let anything happen to her.

I locked my house and got in my car; it was a 13-hour drive. While driving my mind was so full of horrible thoughts and I felt tears streaming down my face. I had promised her that I will always stay by her side but I broke that promise. She always had my back and I let her down. Her tear-stricken face was still engraved in my mind, she begged me to stay but I just got up and left them. I never visited them for the past two years and after lots of unreceived calls they stopped calling me. Only dad checked up on me and I was grateful for that.

I kept driving because I wanted to be there as soon as possible and stopping for a meal would only prolong the moment. I was a little bit scared to face them after ignoring their calls, emails and family dinners. I wonder if dad told her about my arrival, she wouldn't take it easy. I always treated her like a stranger and a villain. It used to hurt her but slowly she got used to it and it became normal but I know that she really loved me.

Standing in front of a mansion with an amazing architectural design, I felt all the past memories rushing down but I closed my closed and took a deep breath. I was there for Laura, what happened before was not my concern anymore. I had made peace with it. I inhaled deeply before bracing myself for all the emotion that awaited me there. Life never seized to amaze me.

I swiped my card and the gates opened. I parked in front of the doors and got down. A valet approached me and bowed.

"Miss Dania." I smiled at him and handed over my keys to him. My car will look like a piece of junk in front of their cars but I was very content with what I had. I stepped inside and immediately two butlers came forward and took my luggage while the other one led me to the study of my father. I knocked at the door.

"Come in." His voice was drained.

I licked my lips, took a deep breath and opened the door. As soon as I stepped in, I heard gasps. I knew that they would be different when they will see me but judging from their shocked expressions, I figured that dad hadn't told them about me.

"Hi." It was the only thing that came out of my mouth and I guess that snapped them back to the reality. I looked at Lauren, I saw her gasping and tears streaming down her face so I quickly diverted my gaze to Sam. His expression was hard and he refused to meet my eye and I completely understood why. I wasn't expecting a warm welcome either. My dad stood up and walked over to me. He hugged me briefly and kissed my forehead.

"I am glad that you are here." I smiled at my dad and nodded.

"Why is she here?" It was Sam's voice.

"I called her this morning. Police were getting nowhere with the search; she will help us." Dad passed a hard look to Sam making me wonder what was going on between them because as long as I remember they were pretty cool.

"Yeah, like she did when she left us all for good. That is what she is good at after all." Sam's voice was hard.

I inhaled and closed my eyes as my psychiatrist had advised me to do so whenever I feel panicked. I knew if I let dad answer him, situation would get out of control.

"What exactly happened that night dad?" I asked.

Dad looked at me and gestured me to take a seat beside Sam. I did so but made sure to sit away from him.

"Last month Laura went to a reunion camping with her high school friends. When she didn't return after 4 days, I called her but her phone was switched off. So, I called one of her friends and she informed me that Laura left the camp on the second day saying that she had an emergency. Nobody saw her after that. Police came to a dead-end last morning. They decided to stop the search and I knew that I had to call you."

"You did the right thing. I will look into it; I might be able to find some old contact that can help me. I just need the exact date and the location of the camp. Did they find her car?" I asked.

"No." I nodded at dad finding it a little strange as why hadn't they found her car. With her car missing, it was possible that she was out there probably in grave danger or had simply run away.

I decided to keep my thoughts to myself. I didn't want dad to worry.

"You can look into it. Here, Mr. Claus will show you the way to your room." Dad smiled at me.

I nodded at him and got up. Without glancing at the other two occupants, I exited the room and followed Mr. Claus. I passed through the very familiar hallways and felt nostalgia hitting me hard. I stepped into my room and found it in exact way as I had left it. I sat on the bed and fished out my phone. I looked through my contact list to find at least one old contact that can be helpful.

Adriana

I knew that she would be the only one willing to help as I had been in contact with her. She was the only person who knew where I was. We did our agent training together and passed it with flying colors. When I quit, she was the only one who supported me. I dialed her number and pressed the phone to my ear.

"Hey Dania, how are you sugar heart?" Her ever always cheerful voice replied.

"Hey, I am good. How are you?" I asked.

"I am good sugarplum. So, how's life going on in that no-name town?" Addy taunted playfully.

"It's called Wyanno and life is really good there." I replied.

"There? Where are you?" I knew Addy would pick up on that.

"I am at home."

"What the… What are you doing here? I mean I am happy but why suddenly?" She asked in concern knowing how much it affected me to be here.

"Laura is missing." I said in a monotone.

"WHAT? When? How? What are you talking about? What happened?" Addy was on the edge of breaking down. She used to be quite close to Laura.

"Last month Laura went to a reunion camping with her high school friends. When she didn't return after 4 days, dad called her but her phone was switched off. So, he called one of her friends and she informed him that Laura left the camp on the second day saying that she had an emergency. Nobody saw her after that. Police came to a dead-end last morning. They decided to stop the search and then dad called me." I explained.

"She couldn't run away. Family meant so much to her, something must've happened to her. We need to find her." Her voice was full of concern.

"Yeah, that is why I called you. I need your help in finding her as I don't have contact here now. I am going to report it to the agency and specially ask for you so that we can find her soon."

"They will let you choose the agent as you were an agent yourself so yeah. Are you okay?" I inhaled.

"No, Sam is quite unhappy about my return and Lauren didn't utter a word so I am waiting for her outburst." I laughed humorlessly.

"Don't let them get to you, you have to find Laura. They don't matter sweetheart." Addy always knew how to make me feel good and I really love her.

"Thank you, I will see you tomorrow."

"Bye." I hanged up and threw my phone on the bed. My mind went back to the time I used to live here.

A soft knock snapped me back to reality and I composed myself.

"Come in." I said.

The door opened to reveal Lauren. She stepped into the room hesitantly and looked around. I looked at her and realized that she looked worn out and almost dead. Her eyes were sunken and her skin pale, I was shocked as she was very obsessed with class and beauty.

"I appreciate you coming here for finding Laura." The words shocked me even more.

"I know we had differences but I always loved you and still do. I raised you as my own though you never really accepted me but you loved Laura and you came here for her. Thank you, Dania." Her words were full of sincerity and I was just numb.

I nodded at her and she smiled maybe realizing that I wasn't going to answer.

"I will send your dinner here; you must be tired." She smiled and left the room.

Growing up I always treated Lauren bad and I regret it. She was always so sweet and kind to me but I had my own issues. I messed up and then I became an agent knowing she was so against it because she wanted me to have a normal life. But I needed answers because my dad never had them so I began looking for my mother just to ask her why she left me and dad. What I found was that there never existed a Spanish woman of name Marilyn Clark and I blamed dad for lying. It didn't end well and I never found her though I wish to find her someday. Then after that incident a year and a half ago, I had enough and left the town, my job and dad.

My dinner was served in my room and I took a shower after dinner. I made myself comfortable on the bed and dozed off knowing that tomorrow was going to be a long day.